Stitch Club: Stone 3

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

As a TextileArtist.org‘s Stitch Club favorite (and the mother of the pair running the place), Sue Stone has hosted several projects since it’s inception. This one is a text-focused project from 2021 that I only recently completed. Actually, I had this finished back in July, I think, but I have been focusing on other passions of mine recently (Pikmin and Zelda!) rather than blogging. I’ve also been working on my digital art skills with a suite of Adobe courses through LinkedIn’s Learning, which I get for free through work, as well as learning Norwegian so I can chat with my friend in her language for a change. So, I’ve been creative, just in unusual and non-blog-worthy ways.

My piece reads “She wanted to be in the woods with her tea so she went to Shawnee” in reference to a solo trip I took earlier this year. I did a solo road-trip circa 2006 and enjoyed it immensely so I wanted to try again. The 2006 trip came without a destination – I simply took the highway west until half my vacation week was over, then turned around to return home. Anything that caught my eye was a stop along the way and back. I made it to Yellowstone National Park without realizing it was also buffalo mating season and Sturgis Bike Week – aka, there was nowhere to sleep but my car, which was another adventure in itself. Stuff like that happens when you don’t plan, so you can’t get mad! I also saw Devil’s Tower and the Badlands, among other hot spots.

I want to live slowly, again, like I remember from my early years. So, if the purpose of my first solo trip was to experience the freedom of no obligations to others, no destination, and no set schedule of checking in or showing up anywhere, then the purpose of this trip was to experience limited technology (audiobook in the car, and kindle at the house, only), no clock (the biggest treasure, perhaps), and the adventure of hiking in the woods as a solo woman. I hiked a lot of trails at different sites and except for the few really touristy ones I visited, I was literally alone – on the roads to get there, in the parking areas, and for the many hours spent hiking. I know, I know: “That’s dangerous!” you say. Don’t worry, I checked – no bears in the Park! Except for my heart stopping a few times when I inadvertently spooked a deer a few feet away, or a giant snake crossing my path (probably 8 feet long), or maybe the creme de la creme of being pinned between a bobcat (!!) and an unknown creature lying in wait in the tiny cliff ledge I had to use to back away from the cat (the other animal turned out to be a very frightened raccoon, I must add), the trip was fine. There was one day my friend visited with his sisters, and our hike took longer than expected (well, I kind of knew it would but didn’t argue the point much), landing us in the uncomfortable zone of night approaching – but even then I was undaunted, having supplies and, of course, others to get through it with. Honestly, I am much more concerned with random men in my own city than anything that might happen out in the woods, statistically speaking. I’m going back solo next year, so ner.

I wanted something relaxed and low key, so I scouted places I could get to in a half-day to maximize my vacation time. I had been to Shawnee National Forest growing up a few times and have always wanted to revisit its Garden of the Gods, so as soon as I realized it fit the bill, I found the most adorable tiny home to stay in and packed my things! There was a pair of bunnies out front every day, and the house had some bunny decorations, too (hence the bunny in the piece). The property was safely tucked behind an electric gate and had acres and acres of its own to explore – lots of turkeys and deer and turtles and birds, oh my! My favorite highlight was an ethereal possum who was unaware of my presence just feet away. The home had a swing on the front porch where I spent most of my time while there – amazingly, there were no mosquitoes and the weather was just absolutely beautiful. I took lazy breakfasts and long dinners each day on that swing, reading my book, drawing, watching the nature that was up close and all around the cabin. There were plentiful wood bees about and studying them was really interesting. One day it rained and I basically spent the entire time on the swing that day listening to it fall, except for the short jaunt to a town for lunch just to see the local area.

As for how I made this piece: this was the first time I used Adobe to lay it out before I began. What? I actually planned?? Well, yes! Mostly because I really wanted to capture a famous view of Garden of the Gods and to get the text to fit just right. I’m very happy with the stone outcrops; these are made with scraps of different fabric patterns and with the stitching over them, you can hardly tell unless you look closely! The stones, trees, swing, tea cup, and bunny are fused appliqué with some stitched accents. And the border is half vintage green velvet ribbon and half viney trim. The lettering is a combination of straight and fly stitching; in fact, nearly all the stitching is simply straight stitching or backstitched. I wanted to keep everything very simple to keep in the mood of how light the trip made me feel. A definite highlight in my life!

As a truly unexpected bonus, I had enlisted in the Shawnee Challenge, which I had learned of through Hiking with Shawn. Turns out, my hard efforts of finding cell signal to log my adventures proved fortuitous, for I was one of the winners! I got a super nice dark green hoodie and beanie, and a light green t-shirt (see all the choices winners can select from here). So cool! Thanks, to the Friends of the Shawnee National Forest for hosting the challenge, President Roosevelt for thinking ahead for people like me, and all the groups who’ve worked hard to restore the area. 💜

 

See more posts related to:

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Looking for more cases of the Crafties?
Hexie Dreams 18

Hexie Dreams 18

My fussy-cut EPP Hexie Dreams quilt is coming along. All the flowers were stitched into rows and the rows are being stitched together now for the final push. I also share some of my dear sewing supplies!

read more
Stitch Club: Maue

Stitch Club: Maue

TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club with Joetta Maue prompted a stitched piece from a photograph and I’ve recreated an adored image of my late grandparents.

read more
Hexie Dreams 17

Hexie Dreams 17

A quick update on my fussy-cut EPP hexie dreams quilt. A whopping 131 flowers are now complete, yay!

read more
Stitch Club: Weighton 2.1

Stitch Club: Weighton 2.1

Haf Weighton lead another TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club workshop on architectural layering, and I was inspired to render New Albany’s Culbertson Mansion based on a photograph by Daniel Andis.

read more
Stitch Club: Sproule

Stitch Club: Sproule

April Sproule led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club using a spiral concept. I felt like this would be a nice project for a friend and asked her for a color palette, hence the unusual-for-me color theme.

read more
Felted Crimson Toadstool

Felted Crimson Toadstool

A long while ago I purchased the Crimson Toadstool needle felting kit from Benzie Designs and finally worked it up.

read more
Collaged Slow Stitch

Collaged Slow Stitch

I made a quirky and weird slow-stitched collage to try to push through a creative slump. It was much more about doing than the outcome.

read more
Stitch Camp 2023

Stitch Camp 2023

I stitched this mixed media piece following Gwen Hedley’s instruction through TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Camp.

read more
Tea Cup study

Tea Cup study

I was inspired to stitch up a stack of tea cups which lead to starting a second project that I’m still thinking about.

read more
Stitch Club: Clover

Stitch Club: Clover

Jette Clover lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club using scraps and a stamp. I used a country farm stamp with a big red barn as inspiration.

read more
Stitch Club: Tume

Stitch Club: Tume

Kate Time lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club on narrative bead texture, and I was inspired to have a play!

read more
Open Press Project

Open Press Project

I ordered a small print press from the Open Press Project and have begun experimenting with pressing leaves.

read more
Stitch Club: Notman

Stitch Club: Notman

Emily Notman lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club where we would learn to make a jar wrap, and I was inspired to create a scene along a lakefront at sunset with cattails blowing in the wind.

read more
Stitch Club: Bliss

Stitch Club: Bliss

Oliver Bliss lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club recently centered on color blocking, and I was inspired to stitch up a skull with flowers.

read more
Nina Stajner + Lake = Swan

Nina Stajner + Lake = Swan

I worked up Nina Stajner’s swan coloring page from the Lake app in a (mostly) single solitary stitch: the stem stitch.

read more